Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down

Samantha’s leg was beginning to go numb, and shock was beginning to set in. Her entire body shook with tremors, both from lack of balance and the agonizing pain that seemed to envelop her entire leg.

As soon as she had passed the doors, she heard a beep as her bracelet reset itself. She groaned. How much more of this could she take? If there really was no possibility of getting out of this place, maybe she’d be better off letting the next trap just—

No…a faint voice whispered from the back of her head. I can’t give up now. There has to be a way!

She moved around the side of the building, leaving deep red stains on the sandy soil as she went. She resorted to a sort of hobble, using an arm to lean on the building’s bricks for support.

Just then, she caught a glimpse of a familiar face, about twenty feet away, coming out of the building next to her.

“Chace,” she called out hoarsely.

He didn’t seem to hear her.

“Chace!”

This time he turned around and caught a glimpse of her. Grimacing, he jogged towards her.

“Samantha! I…What happened to—?” he broke off, staring at the bloody stump in barely restrained horror.

“I had to,” she stuttered, staring at the ground, trying to hold herself back. “I…I was chained up, the only way I could escape was…”

Hysteria grew in her throat. Tears began to tumble down her cheeks, and she threw her arms around her brother.

“I can’t do this…I can’t do this…Chace, we’re going to…”

“Die,” he finished sadly. He let her bury her face in his shoulder, comforting her as best he could with his own punctures still covering his body and torn clothes, still burning.

They stood there for a moment, and Chace stared up at the sky, the bright white clouds, wondering hopelessly. This seemed so like a dream, so impossible…so terrifying.

And yet, so real.

He finally spoke up. “We’d better go. We’ll take doors right next to each other, okay?”

His sister nodded, trying to choke back more sobs. “A-All right.”

Chace seemed distant now, still staring at the sky. “I’ll help you walk.”

He let her lean on him as they walked, like a three-legged animal, toward the main area. As they went, they saw many others starting to emerge. Each looked like they had been through hell and back. Three people had missing limbs like Samantha. Another was staggering, bleeding out from enormous gashes covering her from her ripped scalp to her toes coated in caked blood. There was even one man who had been horribly burned, with shiny red skin and had his entire shirt and shoes lost to the flames.

It was also even more frightening to see how many people hadn't survived. None of the small children they'd seen earlier were there, nor most of the older ones. Worry shot through Samantha's stomach as she thought of her parents.

But worst of all were the sounds. Parents and spouses standing in groups, hugging in relief and mourning those who hadn't made it out alive, mothers screaming, and strangled yells still coming from the buildings. A few people had collapsed in the sand, ready to give themselves over to the bombs ticking on their wrists—or too injured to go on.

“Where’re Mom and Dad?”

Chace shivered. “I don’t know. We can’t wait, though. The bracelets…”

“Who would do something like this?” Samantha demanded. “Who takes a bunch of people, who haven't done anything, and ropes them in, into this place, to die, to—“

“I know,” Chace murmured. “I’ll try to find a way out. There’s got to be a way to disable these bracelets. Keep yourself alive, and I’ll find it. I promise.”

He let her go now. They had less than a minute to go.

“Keep yourself alive,” he repeated.

She tried to laugh and look brave, but it only came out as a muffled cough.

With nothing more to say, Chace opened his door and reluctantly went inside. Samantha paused and looked back behind her.

A thunderous roar suddenly erupted on the other side of the sand. With a sinking feeling, she realized it must have been one of the bracelets, activated by the five-minute deadline.

Still woozy, sickly and bleeding, she stumbled inside, praying to God that she’d make it out of Wood Creek.

The doors slammed behind her, and she stared into the inky blackness.

Keep yourself alive.